Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://ahro.austin.org.au/austinjspui/handle/1/27843
Title: Mental health, substance use, and suicidal ideation among unpaid caregivers of adults in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic: Relationships to age, race/ethnicity, employment, and caregiver intensity.
Austin Authors: Czeisler, Mark É;Drane, Alexandra;Winnay, Sarah S;Capodilupo, Emily R;Czeisler, Charles A;Rajaratnam, Shantha Mw;Howard, Mark E 
Affiliation: Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders Departments of Medicine and Neurology Brigham & Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health and School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Division of Sleep Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
ARCHANGELS, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Institute for Breathing and Sleep
Whoop Inc., Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Division of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Issue Date: 1-Dec-2021
Date: 2021-09-03
Publication information: Journal of Affective Disorders 2021; 295: 1259-1268
Abstract: Unpaid caregivers of adults play critical roles in health care systems by providing care to older adults and those with chronic conditions. The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened caregiving needs, forcing some into caregiving roles and disrupting others. We sought to estimate the prevalence of and identify factors associated with adverse mental health symptoms, substance use, and suicidal ideation amongst unpaid caregivers of adults versus non-caregivers. During June 24-30, 2020, surveys were administered to U.S. adults. Quota sampling and survey weighting were implemented to improve sample representativeness of age, gender, and race/ethnicity. Of 9,896 eligible invited adults, 5,412 (54.7%) completed surveys and 5,011 (92.6%) met screening criteria and were analyzed, including 1,362 (27.2%) caregivers. Caregivers had higher adverse mental health symptom prevalences than non-caregivers, including suicidal ideation (33.4% vs 3.7%, p < 0.0001). Symptoms were more common among caregivers who were young vs older adults (e.g., aged 18-24 vs ≥65 years, aPR 2.75, 95% CI 1.95-3.88, p < 0.0001) and with moderate and high vs low Caregiver Intensity Index scores (2.31, 1.65-3.23; 2.81, 2.00-3.94; both p < 0.0001). Self-report data may be subject to recall, response, and social desirability biases; unpaid caregivers were self-identified; child caregiving roles were not assessed; and internet-based survey samples might not fully represent the U.S. Caregivers experienced disproportionately high levels of adverse mental health symptoms. Younger caregivers and those with higher caregiving intensity were disproportionately affected. Increased visibility of and access to mental health care resources are urgently needed to address mental health challenges of caregiving.
URI: https://ahro.austin.org.au/austinjspui/handle/1/27843
DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2021.08.130
Journal: Journal of Affective Disorders
PubMed URL: 34706440
Type: Journal Article
Subjects: Anxiety
Coping
Depression
Family caregivers
Informal caregivers
SARS-CoV-2
COVID-19
Appears in Collections:Journal articles

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